Adjustable chaik and seat



M 6, 1952- J. w. GREENLESS 2,595,354

ADJUSTABLE CHAIR AND SEAT Filed Oct. 10, 1949 ZSX-lEETS-SHEET 1 m v 25 I 5 zz z/ INVENTOR James WG'reen/ss ATTORNEYS May 6, 1952 J. w. GREENLESS ADJUSTABLE CHAIR AND S EAT 2 SHEETS-Si-EET 2 Filed Oct. 10, 1949 I l l l I I I l I I L I I I l l I l I I I l I I "I m 'ENk INVENTOR BY "9 M ATTORNEYS Patented May 6, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLE CHAIR AND SEAT James W. Greenless, Conway, Mich.

Application October 10, 1949, Serial No. 120,536 6 Claims. (01. 155-88) This invention relates to chairs.

An object of this invention is to provide in a chair having a skeleton frame, a seat structure which is vertically adjustable in the frame so that the seat may be adjusted to the desired height without the use of tools.

Another object of this invention is to provide an adjustable seat structure of this kind which will automatically lock itself in adjusted position.

A further object of this invention is :to provide a vertically adjustable seat structure which is formed of a pair of hinged seat forming members, including means at the front and rear for locking the members in adjusted position on the chair frame and also including means whereby the hinged edges of the seat forming members will be locked against movement one relative to the other.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a detail side elevation of a chair constructed according to an embodiment of this invention,

Figure 2 is a detail front elevation, partly broken away, of the chair,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the seat structure showing one of the locking members in released position.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I designates generally a skeleton frame structure which is formed of a substantially U-shaped back I I, having a connecting plate or back rest I2 fixed between the vertical sides thereof. The back bars I I are extended downwardly as spaced rear leg members and then bent forwardly to provide base members I3 and the base members I3, at their forward ends are then bent upwardly to form front frame or leg members I4. The upper ends of the front frame members I 4 are then bent rearwardly to form arm rests I5, and the rear ends of the arm rests I are fixedly secured as by welding or the like to the back members II.

An adjustable seat structure generally designated as I6 is disposed in a generally horizontal plane when? fully extended between the front members I4 and the back members II and comprises a pair of rectangular plate members I! which are hingedly secured together by hinge means I8. The hinge means I8 is secured to the lower sides of the seat forming members I! and in the present instance the hinge means I8 is a relatively long piano type hinge.

A pair of angle bars I9 are fixed to the outer edges of each member I! and the angle members III are provided with extensions 20 at the outer ends thereof which have openings 2I within Which the frame of the chair is adapted to loosely engage. These extensions are bent upwardly on an obtuse angle to the angle members I9 so that when the seat members I! are in a horizontal operative position the corners of the openings 2I will frietionally engage with and bite into the frame members II and I4 and thereby hold the seat members I1 in a vertically adjusted position on the frame members II and I4.

An angle-shaped latch or locking member 22 is pivotally mounted on a pivot 23 secured to one of the angle members I9 and is adapted to extend across the joint between the abutting edges of the seat members IT. This lock 22 is adapted to engage underneath the angle members I9 as shown in Figures 1 and 4.

In the use and operation of this chair structure, the seat member I6 may be vertically adjusted by swinging the locking members 22 outwardly to released position, as shown in Figure 6, whereupon the seat members I! may be moved upwardly at their confronting inner edges a distance sufficient to dispose the locking members 20 on substantially a horizontal plane. The seat structure I6 may then be moved up or down and when the desired vertical position is obtained, the seat members I! are moved downwardly at their hinged edges so as to dispose the seat members IT in substantially a horizontal plane. After the seat structure I6 is vertically adjusted the looking members 22 may be swung inwardly to a position with one side thereof beneath the abutting ends of the angle members I9 and the other side thereof disposed in face abutting relation with the vertical sides of the abutting angle members I9.

I do not mean to confine myself to the exact details of construction herein disclosed, but claim allv variations falling within the purview of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A chair comprising a frame having vertical 1y disposed front and rear leg members, a seat structure formed of hingedly connected together seat members extendible between said leg members, and releasable locking means carried by said seat members frictionally engaging said front and rear leg members when in an aligned position for locking said seat members in a vertically adjusted position.

2. A chair comprising a frame having vertically disposed spaced front and rear leg members forming a seat area therebetween, connecting means connecting said rear leg members together, a seat structure formed of a pair of hingedly connected together seat members disposed within said seat area, a pair of locking members carried by each seat member and frictionally engageable with said front or rear members for releasably locking said seat members in a vertically adjusted position, and a second locking means engaging between the seat members for releasably holding said seat members against movement one relative to the other.

3. A chair comprising a frame having a pair of vertically disposed side members spacedly connected together to form a seat space therebetween, connecting means connecting said members together at the rear thereof, each side member including a pair of vertically disposed front and rear legs, and a seat structure disposed between said side members, said seat structure comprising a pair of hingedly secured together seat members, a pair of edge bars fixed to the opposite edges of each seat member, and a locking member carried by one end of each edge bar, each locking member having an opening within which a vertical bar is adapted to engage.

4. A chair comprising a frame having .a pair of vertically disposed side members, connecting means. connecting said members together at the rear thereof, each side member including a vertically disposed front and rear bar, said side members spaced apart to form a seat area therebetween, and a seat structure disposed between said side members, said seat structure comprising a pair of hingedly secured together seat members, a pair of edge bars fixed to the opposite edges of each seat member, and a locking member carried by one end of each edge bar, each locking member extending obtusely from its edge bar and having an opening within which one of said vertical bars is adapted to engage in a locked position with said seat members disposed in a horizontal plane.

5. A chair construction comprising a tubular frame having a generally U-shaped back, the back carried by a pair of vertically disposed back legs, a pair of vertically disposed front legs uniformly spaced from said back legs, connecting means extending between each corresponding pair of front and rear legs for holding said legs in parallel spaced relation at four corners of a seat area formed therebetween, a verticallymovab1e seat carried by said legs, said seat being formed as a pair of rectangular shaped front and rear sections, each of said sections being formed with a pair of oppositely disposed leg engaging members obtusely disposed from the plane of the section, hinge means connecting said sections together along adjacent edges each of which is spaced from said leg engaging members of its section whereby on movement of said hinged seat sections to a horizontal position said leg engag- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,089,818 Terker Aug. 10, 1937 2,292,586 Thompson Aug. 11, 1942 2,392,477 Holm Jan. 8, .1946 2,432,245 Lundquist Dec. 9, 1947 2,441,318 Harbison May 11, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 707,915 France Apr. 20, 1931 184,338 Great Britain Aug. 17, 1922 

